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N. PETERSY Fho1o-Lilhugmphen Washington. D4 C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

XYSTE VIGER, OF LONGUEUIL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

MAIL-BAG FSTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming-part of Letters Patent No. 241,C96, dated May 3,1881,

Application filed January 25, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, XYSTE. VIGER, ot Longueuil,in the Province otQuebec,Canada, have invented van Improvementin Fastenings for Mail-Bags, ofwhich the following is a specifi` cation.

This fastening consists ot' a strap that is made with tongues to entereyes upon the front of the bag and prevent the nap being raised. Theeyes pass through openings in the tlap, and also through openings in thestrap adjacent to the tongues, and when the strap is moved in onedirection the tongues pass through the eyes and secure the liap, andwhen moved in the other direction the tongues are Withdrawn and the tlapcan be raised. The strap is retained in place upon the Hap by a box orcase, and the strap is locked to place by a padloclnthe hasp ot' whichpasses through an eye on the nap projecting through an opening in thestrap.

In the drawings, Figure l is an elevation of a mail-bag with my improvedfastening applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical section at the line ma',Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section at the line y y, Fig. 2. Fig. etshows the strap detached. Fig. 5 is an elevation ofthe rear ot' the boxfor the strap. Fig. 6 represents one of the eyes for the locking-tongue,and Fig. 7 is a section ot' the iiap adjacent to one of these eyes.

The mailbag is made in the usual manner, with the. front a, back b,sides c, bottom d, and tlap e, and upon the front of the bag the eyes hare Jfastened, said eyes being formed of Wire in the shape shown inFigs. 6 and 7. The sernicircular Shanks or heads of these eyes arebetween the body of the bag and a strip of leather that is sewed to saidbag, the eyes passing through mortises in the strip, and projecting'above the surface thereof. The flap e has lnortises through it inpositions corresponding to the eyes h, so that said ap may be closedtightly against the face ofthe mailbag, and thc eyes will projectthrough said flap.

i is the locking-strap, slightly longer than the Width ot the bag, andthis strap slides freely within the box or case k, that is secured tothe front ot' the flap. This case is made with a top piece, havingmortises u, corresponding to the mortises in the Hap e, and there is acover or cap over the top, and the parts are (No model.) Patented inCanada December 11, 1880.

sewed or otherwise firmly connected together and to the Hap e. Portionsof the strap 'i are cut ont to form the tongues l I., and leave thenecessary opening adjacent to each tongue for the eyes h h to passthrough. It' the strap z' is made ot' leather, one or both sides of eachtongue should be faced with metal, m, to strengthen it.

Before closing the flap e the strap fi is moved endwise unt-il theopenings at the ends of the tongues are in lille with the openings inthe tlap. Then the iiap is pressed down against the front a ot' the bag7and the eyes h pass into the openings in the case and through the saidstrap. The strap is then pulled endwise, and the tongues 7c enter saideyes and securely hold the flap. The strap is locked in place by the eyet being passed through a mortise in the strap, and a padlock applied atthis eye t.

The box and the strap may be made ot' leather or metal, as desired, andthe fastening may be used for other articles than mailbags.

l am aware that mail-bag fastenings have been made with anendwise-moving strap having tongues that pass into eyes, and that thisstrap has been locked into its place. By my improvement the box or caseincloses the endmoving strap, and it also supports the eyes in positionfor the tongues ot' the strap to pass through them, and it preventsaccess to the strap, tongues, or eyes when the bag is closed, thusincreasing the security.

I claim as my inventionl. The locking-strap i, with tongues l andopenings adjacentthereto,in combination with the box or case 7c upon theflap c, and the eyes h and t upon the front a of the bag, the eye tbeing adapted to receive the lock, substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

2. The eyes h, made with selnicircular ends, and the mortised strip bywhich the eyes are secured to the inail-bag, in combination with theiiap e, case k, and strap t', sliding wit-hin the case, and havingtongues that pass into the eyes Il., substantially as set forth.

Longueuil, December 30, 1880.

XYSTE VIGER.

In presence of A. LVQUE, J. W. LEsPRANoE.

